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THE NATION’S LOSS 


A SERMON 

UPON THE DEATH OF 


ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 


SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT «)E THE UNITED STATES. 


PREACHED AT PADLCAH, KY., APRIL 19, 1865. 


BY EDWARD C. SLATER, D. D. 


PADUCAH, KY: 

BLELOCK & CO. 

1865 . 

























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THE NATION’S LOSS. 


A SERMON 

UPON THE 

DEATH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 

SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 




PREACHED APRIL 19, 1865, 

AT THE TIME OF THE OBSEQUIES AT WASHINGTON, 

IN THE PRESENCE OF BRIG. GEN. S. MEREDITH, AND THE OFFICERS AND 
SOLDIERS OF HIS COMMAND, AND ALSO A 
LARGE CONCOURSE OF CITIZENS, 

AT PADUCAH, KY. 


BY EDWARD C. SLATER, D. D. 

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Paducah, Kentucky: 


BLELOCK & CO. 








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HEAD-QUARTERS DISTRICT OF WESTERN KENTUCKY, 

Paducah, Ky., April 18, 1865. 


General Orders, > 

No. 12. f 

The melancholy intelligence of the death of the Chief Magistrate ol th.e Nation, 
Abraham Lincoln, having been confirmed, appropriate funeral honors will be paid 
by the troops at each Post in this District, at the same hour the obsequies are 
held at the National Capital. 

The troops at this Post will assemble on the square immediately west of these 
Head-Quarters, at 12 o’clock M., on Wednesday the 19th inst., where the proces¬ 
sion will be formed under the direction of a Staff Officer, in the following order : 

Aid-de-Camp, Brig. Gen. S. Meredith, comd’g. Adjutant. 

Members of the Staff, mounted. 

Mounted Escort. 

Pall-Bearers. Hearse, y Pall-Bearers. 

Post Commander and Staff. 

7th Tennessee Cavalry, Col. Hawkins. 

2d Illinois Light Artillery, Lieut. Pence. 

49th Illinois Infantry, Col. Moore. 

44th Wisconsin Infantry, Col. Symes. 

Marshal. Paducah Union League. Marshal. 

Orators of the Day. 

The Reverend Clergy. 

Masonic Fraternity and the Odd Fellows. 

Mayor and City Council and other Civic Authorities. 

Judges of the Courts and Members of the Bar. 

Citizens on Foot and in Carriages. 

Officers and m en will parade in full uniform, wearing the prescribed badge of 
mourning. Twenty-one minute guns will be fired, commencing at 12 o’clock, and 
all business, military and civil, will be suspended during the day. The procession 
being formed, it will move at a given signal up Poplar to Court street, down Court 
to Main street, down Main street to Broadway, and up Broadway to the grounds 
in front of Mr. Givens’ residence, where appropriate services will be held in be¬ 
half of the honored dead. The entire community are invited to join in the pro¬ 
cession or to be in attendance at the services. 

The services will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Slater,- who has kindly consented 
to deliver a funeral sermon on the occasion. The ministers of the different 
churches will be provided with seats on the stand, and are expected to participate 
in the ceremonies. Judge Williams has been selected by the Masonic Fraternity, 
and Rev. Mr. Herrington by the citizens, to delivei eulogies in honor of the il¬ 
lustrious dead. 

By Order ofErig. Gen. S. Meredith. 

A. F. TAYLOR, 

Lieut, and A. A. A. Gen. 


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Tiita ia the prerogative of the noblest natures, that their departure to higher regions exercises a no 
leas blessed influence than did their abode on earth ; that they lighten us above, like stars by which 
to steer our course, often interrupted by storms.—G oktiik. 


Blest 

Is he whose heart is the home of the great dead, 
And their great thoughts.—B ah.kt. 




































































































































TO BRIG. GEN. 8. MEREDITH. 


^Commanding the Military District of Western Kentucky, 


AS AN EXPRESSION OK ESTEEM FOR HIS 


\ os r, ' 

mmrnt jpatriurti^m mh H 


c£y> 

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THIS HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF 


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IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 







































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OPENING PRAYER. 


BY REV. JO. F. 55110 WN. 


Eternal, Omnipotent and Omniscient God ! Our Father by creation, by providence and by redemp¬ 
tion, to whom can we go but unto Thee, for comfort and consolation in this, our sad bereavement? In 
vain]is the help of man—vain his comfort and his attempted consolation. We, this saddest day known to 
our nation, feel our dependence on the Independent and Living God, and with humility, reverence 
and Godly fear, come into the presence of Him who justly claims adoration from all created intelli 
gencies, with our sore complaint, all clad in mourning, to offer our prayers, confess our sins, and beg 
the intercession of our Great High Priest. 

To-day, Oh, Holy Father ! our beloved and bleeding nation is draped in mourning—our brethren 
over the land are calling on Thee, and crying unto Thee for strength, fortitude, forgiveness and faith¬ 
fulness. Our nation’s heart is pained, and tears are flowing, on account of the dark and tragic scene 
—the assassin’s work—which has eventuated in the untimely death of our loved and honored Chief 
M agist rate, and a serious and almost fatal thrust at the heart of our Honorable Secretary of State ; 
at the hour, too, when the Star of Hope was at t lie zenith, and the Bow of Peace promised soon to 
span our darken d canopy. Holy and Righteous Father ! these solemn and sad realities, make us 
deeply deplore the depravity of the human heart, and bow our heads in the dust, praying Thee to pity 
the poor sorrowing children all over our nation to-day. Ileal all our back-slidings, blot out our ini¬ 
quities, pa; don our sins and restore the joys of Thy salvation unto us. 

Oh, sanctify our National loss to the good of all our people—teach us to so number our days that, we 
may apply our hearts to wisdom. Oh, God ! be Thou the strength of our stricken nation ; be Thou 
the widow’s husband and the orphan’s father; comfort and bind up all broken-hearts; permit us to 
lean on Thy ann of might, and aid us in our clay of distress. Give strength, courage, wisdom and 
discretion to our new President; let the mat tie of the lamented dead rest on his shoulders; endow 
his advisers and Cabinet with a competency of wisdom to bear our nation through the darkness and 
peril, to restore law and order, and more firmly establish civil and religious liber y. Bless our.Civil 
and Military authorities ; our Army and Navy ; our sick and wounded ; poor and needy, and give soon 
peace to our c > n.n >n h jrita:a. Coatr >1 us by 7 i ; dor t. M vy we imitate our Savior. Avenge our 
wrongs, for vengeance ie thine. Hear u> a i l bless us, and r e train the awlul passions of men, and 
save us with eternal salvation, through Christ our Lord and Savicr. Amen. 


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THE NATION’S LOSS 


“Know ye not that there is a prince, and a great man , fallen this <lay in Israel .”— 
II Samuel, 4 Chap., 38 Yersf. 

My Countrymen : 

1 am deeply impressed with my inability to give utterance to the senti¬ 
ments and feelings appropriate to this mournful occasion. The terrible shock tha; 
iias sent a thrill of horror throughout the land still arrests the volubility of the 
longue. Grief can only speak in broken tones. A stricken nation yet shudders 
with horror at the deep and fiendish tragedy which has been enacted. The life¬ 
blood still curdles in the heart of every good man. Tears bring no relief. 

" A prince and a great man has fallen.” In the very moment when the climax 
of his destiny seemed to be reached, the Head of this great nation has fallen. In 
the critical moment, when the calm, patient, and earnest Statesman was 1 ‘ master 
of the situation,” and was revolving the problem of securing the results, in the 
return of the disaffected States to their original nationality , ..e has fallen. In the 
auspicious moment when those who had unfalteringly sustained him in defending 
the life of the nation, amid the shock of a thousand battles, were Overwhelmed 
with joy at the prospect of success,—the last great battle seemed to have been 
fought, the muster of preparation ceased, the war-worn veteran began to think of the 
sweet home-welcome : and, when the eyes of all, both friends and former foes, 
were turned toward him for the crowning act of statesmanship and magnanimity 
which should hush the discord of violence and blood forever,— Abraham Lincoln, 
the President of the United States, has fallen ! Not by the act of God, but by the 
hand of a vile assassin! There is a deep national humiliation in this tragedy of 
crime. It lias been permitted, by the Almighty, to bring us thus terribly to see 
the tendency of our individual corruptions, to subvert all the foundations of pub¬ 
lic faith and social security. God will requite it. 11 There is no darkness, nor shad¬ 
ow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”—Job xxxiv, 22. 

This is no moment, my countrymen, for the outflowing of frenzied passions. 
When the pinions of the death-angel shadow the Parthenon of Freedom ; when the 
heart of a mighty nation is throbbing with painful sympathy ; when prayer, and 
not tumult, beseems us ; when humility, and not lolly, should clothe us ; when 
reason, and not madness, should direct us ; when faith \n God, and nut blind im¬ 
pulse. should inspire us,—every honest man and patriot as well, should uphold th* 


[ 12 ] 

supremacy of the laws, and frown down the suggestions of weakness and malevo¬ 
lence. 

Nor is this an hour to shrink from duty, or evade responsibility. When the bad 
passions of men, unfettered by the Demon of Strife, are threatening our last hope 
of security ; when red-handed murder shakes his dagger defiantly in the high places 
of our land ; when loathsome impurity flaunts in the sunlight ; when aspic-lipped 
blasphemy startles the heavens; when the meanest human reptiles crawl into view and 
batten in the heat of a distempered time, then must every good citizen, who wishes 
well to his country, and his race, stand firmly by the principles of eternal order. 

The minister of God has a mission sacred and peculiar. While, like his master, 
he should be “a man of one work,” while lie sweet serenity of Him who died 
upon the cross of sacrificial agony should softly swathe lus spirit ; and while he 
should s and, amid the surging tides of humanity, as the representative of reason 
and faith, of tranquil passions and of G od, yet, like Christ, he should fearlessly 
denounce the corruptions and disorders of the time. 

Suffer me to repeat, the magnitude of my duty oppresses me. I would that some 
minister of more ability had been chosen to give direction to your religious feel¬ 
ings and sentiments at this hour. No minister can meet your expectations. It is 
for the statesman to portray the statesman ; it is for genius to comprehend genius ; 
it is for the philosopher or historian to measure the man ; but it is for the preacher, 
when the great and the good are no niajjp in this life, to understand and improve 
the moral influence which they' have existed upon the world. 

The volume of President Lincoln’s life, now c losed by death, is far too vast to be 
measured in a funeral discourse. It now belongs to his country and to the world. 
Not until the warring passions of this time are stilled ; not until, from some tran¬ 
quil point in the future, we can calmly survey the characteristic proportions of this 
eminent man, can we truly estimate Ins worth or his influence upon our destinies. 
When Freedom is no longer praying amid the gloom of Gethsemane, and the shame 
and bitterness of her calvary are o'er ; when the genius ol Columbia no longer 
mourns over her crushed and bleeding sons,—but, dropping from her beautiful fea¬ 
tures the horrid mask of war, shall stand serene among the nitions of the earth, 
then let the history of this great leader and statesman be written ! 

Our text is the plaintive refrain of King David’s dirge-like lamentation for the 
death of Abner, the last great leader, of the fortunes, of the house of Saul : 
'•'■Know ye not that there is a prince , anl a great row, fallen this day in Israel 

We have not selected this sentiment for the purpose of inst tilting a parallel be¬ 
tween this prince of the house of Israel, and the late great head of our nation. 
But, in the violent death of each by the hand of an assassin ; and in the conjunc¬ 
ture of circumstances in which each was about to give himself to the work of re¬ 
conciling disaffected tribes and States , but was struck down before the work was 
consummated, we have the suggestion of its fitness for this mournful interview. 

- There arc also solemn lessons of warning which come to u.» from the dark back 
ground of the text, as well as from the deed of violence which has this day para 
lized the heart of our nation. 







[13] 

The scene of the text has been history for nearly thirty centuries. There was 
long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. Abner was Saul’s 
general, and also his near kinsman. After the tragic death of the King, Abner 
espoused the cause of Ishbosheth, the sou of Saul, “ and made him King over 
Gilead, and over the Ashurite, and over Jezreal, and over Ephraim, and over Ben¬ 
jamin, and over all Israel.” It is recorded of Abner that, in the long war which 
followed, “he made himself strong for the house of Saul,” but in a moment of 
pique, because of a reprimand from Ishbosheth, he went over to the interest of 
David “ the Lord’s annointed.” He drew after him the hearts of the tribes of Is¬ 
rael, and after a preliminar}’’ conference with David, at Hebron, he was returning 
to secure the results, and establish a unity of government, when he was fouly mur¬ 
dered. Joab, David’s general, actuated by jealousy and revenge, was the assassin. 
Abner, in mere self-defence, had killed Asahel, the brother of Joab, and now, in 
retaliation, was treacherously slain. It is a da r k scene in history. The damning 
vices of the Past repeat themselves. Amid the horrors of internecine strife, evils 
rankly breed, passions madly riot, bad men grow worse and worse, good men even 
fear to do right, the smoke from the Bottomless Pit shuts out the light of Heaven, 
until at last some crime of appalling magnitude and unspeakable woe, brings the 
people to see the gulf to which they are tending. “ When thy judgments are in 
the earth [0 Lord] the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”—Isaiah 29 
chap. 9 verse. 

I. It was in the deepest humiliation before God that King David uttered the lan¬ 
guage of the text. He felt, and all his people were brought to feel, that a great 
crime had been committed. There is no crime more abhorrent to reason than assas¬ 
sination. It embodies in itself all the elements of fiendish malignity. It is the 
result of cold-blooded calculation. Its agent bides his time. He seeks the favor¬ 
able opportunity of repose, or pre-occupation on the part of his victim. He gives 
no note of warning. He heeds no agony that may result to others, but maddened 
by ambition, or goaded by malignity, he commits the crime that arouses the dread 
Nemesis of woe. The great soul of David was therefore deeply humbled because 
of this national tragedy, and he made all the people to feel that he did not ap¬ 
prove the deed of blood. He sank down in weakness before the Lord. No fitful 
ravings foamed from his pallid lips. No yells of passion rent the a ir. No invok¬ 
ing of other demons from their places of darkness degraded his dignity. He hum¬ 
bly turned to G-od. He beheld the serene face of Eternal Justice above the gloom. 
He knew that retribution was in a sure and steady hand, and he exclaimed : “The 
Lord shall reward the doer of e/il according to his wickedness.” It becomes us 
therefore as a people, in this moment of overwhelming sorrow, to sit in calm hu¬ 
miliation before God. The eyes of the universe are upon us. We have called our¬ 
selves by the name of the Lord. His statutes are our laws. 1 ‘ Bighte ousness ex- 
alteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Let us calmly address our¬ 
selves to God and to His laws. In this hour, let every true man, however intense 
his feelings, stand upon the primal granite of eternal order, feeling his responsibil¬ 
ity to God and all mankind, and let the Angel of Justice, and not the Demon of 
Vengeance, rule the mind. 

II. It was in the sjnrit of true magnanimity that David utter d the sentiment of 
the text. Abner had been his most formidable foe, but was now seeking to mediate 
the troubles of that stormy time, and David received the great captain with kind- 


[14] 

ness. When the tidings came to the King of the treacherous murder of Abner, 
although overwhelmed with grief, he utters this grand and solemn eulogy for the 
nation’s loss : “ Know ye not that there is a prince, and a great man, fallen this 
day in Israel.” When men are humbled before the Lord they behold charac¬ 
ters and events in their true light. Differences vanish. Reason triumphs. Truth 
is unveiled. It is only when men feel that God reigneth that they cherish right 
sentiments toward each other. “ The meek will he guide in judgmentand 
feelings of magnanimity, towards men, are always the result of a near approach 
unto God. 

The blood of millions of patriots has been poured out as a national sacrifice, and 
no tv the “ prince and the leader has fallen l 11 Shall the libation be in vain ? Shall 
not the great, calm, spirit of Freedom survive ? And shall her dead heroes and 
martyrs point us upward to the principles of magnanimity in vain ? Let us hope 
in view of the costly sacrifice, and the precious memory of our departed ruler, that 
those noble sentiments which tend to human security will prevail. 

III. It was in grief for his loss tnat David spake . A new-found friend was mur¬ 
dered. A pillar of strength in the reconstruction of his kingdom had fallen. He 
mourned as only he could mourn. When the rulers of a people are hurled from 
their positions, by violence ; it becomes every one to pause in the business of life, 
and consider the great national calamity. The sad, funeral bell is now tolling 
throughout the land. Millions of hearts are painfully throbbing, for the great, the 
illustrious dead, is being borne onward to his last resting place. A nation pauses— 
so deep—so solemn is the hush—that we almost hear the soft, still, voice of G-od ! 
Let us breathe His name calmly, and adore. 

There were many widows in this broad land before ; and many orphans, who 
looked in vain, at early morn, or dewy eve, for the coming home of their fathers. 
But see yonder, at Washington, are a newlv-made widow and orphans, following 
the bier of a loved, and murdered hope—their best earthly friend—while a grief- 
bowed nation is in tears. Death reigns I Eminence, usefulness, social grief, 
nor a nation’s pleadings, can stay his stroke. “ 0 that the people were wise, that 
they understood this, that they would consider their latter end. ’ ’ 

It will be for others who may follow to speak to you as statesmen and orators. 
We speak to you in the name of God. We have to do with the moral lessons of 
this solemn hour. Deeply impressive are the teachings of President Lincoln’s 
completed life—a life suddenly closed in the very maturity of his powers, for he 
was but fifty-six years of age. “ He was born February 12, 1809, in that part of 
Hardin county, Ky., now known as Larue.” But, through tears, who can sketch 
a memoir? “The Lord knoweth the days of the upright, and their inheritance 
shall be forever. ’ ’ 

WE ARE ALL OF US, THIS DAY, HEIRS TO THE EARNEST TEACH¬ 
INGS OF A GREAT EXAMPLE 1 

As first, President Lincoln’s recognition of the claims of God , and his constant 
reliance upon Divine aid ) for the success of his Administration. In all this we are 
led to believe that he gave an earnest expression of his religious sentiments, and 


[15] 

that he was not merely following in the wake of his illustrious predecessors. The 
beautiful sentiment of the fatherhood of God seems to have informed and inspired 
his patriotism. There is a melting tenderness in the manner in which casts 
himself upon the arm of Providence, when, on the 11th of February, 1861, he 
bade farewell to his friends at Springfield, his home, to proceed to Washington, 
and assume the control of the Government. He spoke as follows : 

1 ‘ My Friends : No one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this 
parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a 
quarter of a century. Here my children were born, and here one of them lies 
buried. I know not how soon I shall see you all again. A duty devolves upon 
me which is perhaps greater than that which has devolved upon any other man 
since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the 
aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot 
succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained, and in the same Al¬ 
mighty Being I place my reliance for support ; and I hope you, my friends, will all 
pray that I may receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, 
but with which success is certain. Again, I bid you all an affectionate farewell. 11 

Here, while giving the parting hand to his long cherished friends—here, sur¬ 
rounded by his neighbors, without disguise, without dismay, in the full and honest 
overflowing of his sonl, he fully commits his way to God. 

Not only upon this occasion, but many times before reaching the Capital, he 
gave utterance to the same noble sentiments. He “ set the Lord always before 11 
him. We cannot but refer you to the conclusion of his speech to the assembled 
Legislature of New York, in reply to an address of welcome. In allusion to the 
difficulties before him, he avows his concern for the good of every section of the 
country, and says : 

‘ 1 In the meantime, if we have patience, if we maintain our equanimity, though 
some may allow themselves to run off in a burst of passion, I still have confidence 
that the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, through the instrumentality of this great 
people, can and will bring u s through this difficulty, as He has heretofore brought 
us through all preceeding difficulties of the country. Relying upon this, I bid you 
farewell. 11 

Standing a few days after, amid the sublime remembrances of old 11 Independence 
Hall,” in view of the statue of the “ Father of his Country, 11 and the portraits of 
the grand old Heroes of the Revolution, in view of the old Liberty Bell, and other 
impressive relics of our heroic age, he still pointed the nation upward to the sove¬ 
reignty of God. and solemnly affirmed his purpose to avoid the horrors of war, un¬ 
less war u was forced upon the Government for its own defence. 11 In his first In¬ 
augural Address, while broadly surveying the threatening complications of the 
hour, he yet earnestly maintains, like Washington, in his Farewell Address, that 
“ Intelligence, Patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never 
yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all 
our present difficulties.” And thus confident, he intones the harp of prophesy, 
and speaks his hopefulness for the Nation’s destiny, in these stirring and rythmi¬ 
cal words, among the finest in our languag e : 


[ 16 ] 

u The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot 
grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell 
the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the bet¬ 
ter angels of our nature.” 

Again, in closing his first message to Congress, July 4th, 1861, after reviewing 
the causes which impelled him to the defence of the G-overnment, he avows, before 
the world, his reliance upon God, in these words : 

11 Having thus chosen our cause, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us 
renew our trust in God , and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.” 

On the 12th day of August, following, he issued his first Proclamation for a gen¬ 
eral day of Humiliation and Prayer. It was set forth in most reverent and ap¬ 
propriate language, and was a full and earnest expression, for himself and the nation, 
of entire dependence upon God. And you all remember how frequently, during 
the dark and bloody scenes of our fearful conflict, these days for national observance 
have been proclaimed. In the burdened hours of peril, as well as in times of hope 
and victory, the hand of the calm pilot at the helm of the Ship of State, pointed 
the moral sense of the nation ever upward unto Him, 11 who doeth according to 
His own will in the armies of Heaven, and among the children of men.” 

But, perhaps no more striking proof of President Lincoln's care for the highest 
wants of the nation, no more healthful appeal to the devout principles of the peo¬ 
ple was ever made than his “ Order for the Observance of the Sabbath,” issued 
to the soldiers and sailors of the Union, on the 16th of November, 1862. Hear it ! 
Hear it, as the as the grand and solemn shade of the Departed rises immortal, and 
renews it unto us thi8 day : 

“ The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Arm yand Navy, desires and enjoins 
the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men in the Military and 
Naval service. The importance for man and beast of the prescribed weekly rest, 
the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference to the 
best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will, demand 
that Sunday labor in the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of strict ne¬ 
cessity. The disci; line and character of the National forces should not suffer, nor 
the cause they defend be imper rilled, by the profanation of the day or name of the 
Most High.” 

How impressive sounds that order now when the hand that wrote it is still in 
death ! Profoundly had the mind of Mr. Lincoln been instructed by the teachings 
of God’s most Holy Word. We see this in the nervous Saxonism of his language 
and in the quaint yet solemn rythm of his sentences. We see this in his earnest 
purpose and religious awe. Amid all the shadows which deepened around him 
he seemed to realize that an Infinite Eye was burning along the path of his destiny. 
When others faltered, and despondency fell like a cloud upon the nation he yet 
proclaimed : “ There is a God who ruletli all things well.” 

We but feebly, in this, represent the facts of his life. The depth and the volume 
of that life will yet be known. When the smoke and the tumult of the Present 
shall have passed away, it will be seen and realized of all. 


.(Hull: 


[ 17 ] 

The next point which we would have you consider in connection with the fore¬ 
going, is the humility of this remarkable man , in his highest estate. 

True greatness is always simple and urn stentatious. It leads its possessor to 
realize the solemn responsibilities of his position before (rod and man. President 
Lincoln was one of the meekest of men. When addressed by the President of 
the Senate of Ohio, with reference to the responsibility which would rest upon his 
Administration, he thus replied : 

u I am deeply sensible of that weighty responsibility. I cannot but know, what 
you all know, that without a name, perhaps without a reason why I should have 
a name, there has fallen upon me a task which did not devolve upon the Father of 
his Country, and so feeling, I cannot but turn and look for support, without which 
it will be impossible for me to perform that great task. I turn then and look to the 
American people, and that God who has never forsaken them.” 

At Stubenville, Feb. 14, 1861, in reply to an address, Mr. Lincoln says: “I 
feel the great confidence placed in my ability is unfounded. Indeed, I am sure it 
is.” 

Before the Legislature of New York, some days later, he says : “ It is true that 
while I hold myself, without mock-modesty, the humblest of all the individuals 
who have ever been elected President of the United States, I yet have a more dif¬ 
ficult task to perform than any one of them has ever encountered.” Again, and 
again, though surrounded by applauding millions, he uttered the same unselfish 
sentiments. But the quiet simplicity of his manners, the constant devotion of his 
life to the good of others, lrs plainness of speech, his modesty in dress, the free¬ 
dom of his receptions, the frankness and depth of his character, proclaim4 that a 
noble humility based upon moral principle, was the foundation of his distinction. 
Greatness thus established,can afford to wait the verdict qf posterity. It stands 
serene amid revolutions that sweep, as with the force of a whirlwind, the vain 
and the pretensive away. What a noble example has been left, by the departed 
Statesman, to those who are just beginning their course in life. 

Another aspect of President Lincoln’s character, in strict harmony with his 
humility, was his equanimity of disposition. 

In this respect he was a sheet-anchor to the nation. Never, amid the utmost 
fury of the storm that was beating around him, did his composure desert him. He 
had his work to do, and he meant to do it. His cheerfulne-s relieved the burden 
of duty, and the gloom of his friends. His'genial humor was as natural to him as 
fragrance to the flower, the song to the bird, or a laugh to the innocent child. To 
some, who did not know him, it seemed strange and elfin-like, amid the terrible 
drama that was being enacted. But the philosopher and historian will, most like¬ 
ly, regard it as a most wonderful expression of his equanimity of soul—as the 
fluttering signal of the power within him, thus giving to others that hope which 
ever played, in lambent flames, above his unshaken mind and earnestness of 
purpose. 

Which brings us to consider, fourthly, that he was endowed with great energy 
of will. 

This is evident, from the position he attained in the world. Few men who have 
reached to eminence ever had such difficulties to encounter. His parents were 
poor. His natal home was humble. His early training was amid all the disad- 


[ 18 ] 

vantages of a new country. His residence was changed, once and again—from 
Kentucky to Indiana, and then to Illinois. His youthful life was one of hariship 
and toil. He had but six months tuition in a common school, and yet he pressed 
onward and upward until he was able to compete with the mightiest minds of the 
country, and grapple with the deepest problems of the age. The energy of his 
character, since his elevation to the Chief Magistracy of the Nation, has astonish¬ 
ed the world. In the tremendous contest, with armed rebellion on one side, and 
the difficulties which environed his every step on the other, he has shown himself 
to be possessed of invincible energy and earnestness of purpose. Like a rock, 
in the storm-driven ocean, the waves of strife have broken vainly around him. 

Lastly, President Lincoln was a model for his countrymen in Ms moral sensibil¬ 
ities. He felt and respected the obligations of virtue. It is recorded to his honor 
that “ he was never accused of a licentious act in his life.” We are informed 
that he was strictly temperate—was never profane—never gambled—never specu¬ 
lated, and so strictly just was he, in the transaction of business, that, as the equit¬ 
able Grecian was styled “the Just,” so Mr. Lincoln, with his friends, his 
neighbors, and his countrymen, won the attribute of u Honest,” a title consecra¬ 
ted by the poetic genius of William Pope, as the “ noblest” upon earth ! 

His sensibilities were averse to war. He avowed and regarded his course as 
the stern necessity of his position. He had sworn to maintain and uphold the Con¬ 
stitution and the Government, and in his Inaugural Address, he affirmed that there 
should be no war unless it was forced upon the National authority. He uttered a 
solemn warning before he lifted the sword. But'it is not for me, in this 
hour of sadness, to call back the wierd-like pictures of that stormy time. They 
have passed onward to the great review of God ! 

How tenderly did the sensibilities of his nature go out after his suffering sol¬ 
diers. How feelingly, in the dedication service at Gettysburg, sacred to the mem¬ 
ory of the nation’s heroes—sacred to the country forever—how feelingly did he 
speak of “ the brave men who had given their lives that the nation might live,” 
and how lovingly did he commend them u to be remembered.” Nor, did he for¬ 
get, as he stood above the bones of the slain, to lift a tender appeal to the nation 
for “ all who had suffered from wounds, and marches, or sickness.” Soldiers, 
your true friend is no more ! “ We come to bury” him—“ not to praise him.” 

He is beyond all mortal praise or blame. 

His feelings of philanthropy for the African race have found their full expression 
in the leading facts of his now completed history. We have referred to his moral 
sensibilities, as exhibited in action, and by his friends, that you may be impressed 
with the truth that greatness must rest upon a sound morality. Little, mean, envi¬ 
ous, and malignant men, can never achieve true greatness. Greatness comes from 
God ! It is humble, simple, and yet grand, unshaken amid storms, and enduring 
to the end, and with all, its foundation is in solid virtue, derived from God. It is 
for each one, before me, to consider whether “ a prince and a great man has fall¬ 
en in ” our “ Israel this day.” 

There are useful deductions which might be made, as 

First— Let no mean or selfish passion , or utterance , desecrate this hour. He, 
whom we mourn, did not indulge in malicious feelings. He was kind and courte¬ 
ous to all. Let this grand and solemn memory steal softly over this vast audience 
to-day. Whilst his body lies cold and pulseless, and his spirit is before the high- 


[ 19 ] 

est Tribunal in the Universe, let us think of God, and bow in submission to His 
will. 

Secondly—Let us seek to be ready for the death-summons when it shall come. 
We know nothing of Mr. Lincoln’s special preparation for the solemn hour, ex¬ 
cept as it comes to us in the earnest course and conduct of his life. It is this 
which reflects the principles within. The last words, which he uttered in the 
hearing of the nation, and which now sound as a farewell to us, dropped from, a 
heart overflowing with kindness, were : 

“ With malice toward no one, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as 
God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind 
up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for 
his widow and his orphans to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and 
lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” 

His record is made up for Eternity. God will do right. We can well submit 
to that Wisdom and Goodness which are Infinite. Sudden was the call. The 
stroke of death was sure. Let us humble ourselves in the dust, and turn to the 
Lord. 

Finally, amid the solemnities of this hour, let feelings of patriotism inspire us. 
Love of country was the avowed and constant impulse of Mr. Lincoln’s life. 
However different may be the opinions of the Present, as to the wisdom of his pol¬ 
icy, all must feel that the Statesman was honest and unwavering in his patriotism. 
His devotion to his country is nowsealed with his blood. Like the first martyr, “ he 
being dead yet speaketh.” The great men who have lived and died for our coun¬ 
try cannot have lived and died in vain ! There shall be a grand Easter Morning 
of hope and salvation ! 

Abraham Lincoln “being dead yet speaketh.” On Good Friday, the day 
commemorative of the death of the crucified Redeemer, he closed his eventful 
life, in the closing period of the most wonderful historic drama of time ; and on 
this Easter Festival witnessing of a resurrection of Humanity, we commit him to 
the tomb, trusting that the bow of promise upon the retiring war-cloud is a pledge 
of peace and mercy to our laud. 

Abraham Lincoln “being dead yet speaketh.” He had treasured the lessons 
of patriotism which had come down from our Fathers ; and he has renewed them 
to us. The true patriot is 

“ Heir of all the ages, foremost in the 
Files of Time.” 

Other lands cast a transient radiance upon the pages of history, as the glorious 
Sun of Liberty shot his golden beams athwart their skies, but almost all have dar¬ 
kened again beneath the storms of despotism, or sank in blood beneath the horizon 
of time. But may we not hope, this day, that the Genius of American Liberty is 
destined for a loftier mission, and for a nobler consummation. The love of coun¬ 
try is not a selfish principle with meted bounds of thought and action, which we 
dare not overpass. It holds fellowship with kindred spirits of every clime. In¬ 
deed, gathered as a people from all nations, and schooled from childhood in the 
great words of freedom, if true to ourselves, we must be true to humanity—to the 
happiness of the world. 

In the life and memory of Mr. Lincoln, it would seem that the spirit of classic 
and heroic ages survived. Let us catch the mighty inspiration. It was the love 


[ 20 ] 

of country that thrilled with immortal fire the epic lyre of Homer, and murmured 
with undying music through the pastoral reed of the Mantuan bard. It was the 
love of country which hurled the thunder tones of the great Athenian in his scath¬ 
ing Pliillipics. and nerved the eloquence of Cicero, with crushing energy, against 
the foul conspiracy of Cataline ! It was this pure spirit which consecrated the 
rugged pass of Thermopylae with the blood of the bravest and best, and which 
has shed a living glory upon the plain of Marathon, which shall brighten upon the 
eyes of mankind, until the freedom of earth shall sublimely expand into the free¬ 
dom of Eternity ! Was it not this spirit which raised the shout of liberty amid 
eternal Alpine snows, that crushed, like an avalanche, the ruthless hounds of Au¬ 
strian despotism, and enshrined a William Tell among the immortal gods of free¬ 
dom ? Has it not, from the magic harp of Erin, lifted a heart-wail of sorrow, 
mingled with hope, which, despite of long centuries of oppression and suffering, 
hath made Hibernia to "seem as an emerald set upon the bosom of the ocean ! 
And the rare genius of a Burns, and a Scott, in the light of this principle hath 
clad the barren heaths bleak highlands of Scotland, in the gorgeous hues of imag¬ 
ination. far richer than ever festooned the vine-clad hills of France, or bloomed 
beneath the mellow sky of Italy. Even where the martyred ghosts of Poland and 
Hungary lift their bloody shrouds in supplication to G-od, the quenchless fires of 
patriotism burn deep down in the national heart ! And shall not the citizen of 
this great Republic, “the land of the free and the home of the b r ave,” ever turn 
with wrapt devotion to the lofty shrine of his country’s good, and his country’s hon¬ 
or? What nation hath a mightier history, and prouder remembrances than this? 
Here the energy and the enterprise of the greatest nations have been concentrated 
in the planting of these States, and in the nurturing of our glorious institutions. 
Here a government has been established, which secures to its citizens every valu. 
able, civil, social, and religious privilege and obligation so long as the majesty of 
the law is respected. We have received an inheritance from our fathers, which 
has been hell by their sons, and is thus consecrated by the purest patriotism upon 
earth. Let us, then, my countrymen, in view of the memories of the Past, and 
the patriotism of the nation’s heroes, in the Present, as exhibited upon many a 
bloody field, let us in view of the great life of our departed President, who still 
pleads with us from the sphere of Immortality, let us be true to the country, to 
the Union to Liberty, to Independence, and to God. 


CLOSING PRAYER. 

BY REV. .1. T. HENDRICK, D. I)., 

PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, OF PADUCAH. 

“ Our Father which art in Heaven:” We acknowledge Thee, as the Supreme Ruler of the universe, 
and Sovereign Disposer of all events. Sanctify ; we beseech thee, this dispensation of thy Providence 
to this congregation, and to all the people of this great nation. May we bow in humble submission to 
thy judgment, so mysterious, distressing and afflictive, and say The will of the Lord be done. The 
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord. 

Grant thy richest blessings to the afflicted widow and family, and send thy great comforter to bind 
up their broken hearts and sustain them. 

Let thy blessing rest upon his successor in office; and guide and sustain him in the discharge of 
the responsible and difficult duties devolving upon him. Bless all in authority, and that rule over us, 
civil or military. And very speedily send peace to our afflicted country. 

Deeply impress upon us all the wholesome and important truths which we have now heard. May we 
ever cherish the memory, the virtues and the excellencies of the departed Chief Magistrate, and cart 
the mantle of love over any defects he may have had. 

May the services of this day prove a lasting blessing to this deeply afflicted and weeping nation, by 
turning every heart to thee, our father’s God, for such blessings as will ever make us that happy 
people, whose God is the Lord, we ask through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.— Amen! 































































































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